Patrice Durand has become vice president/chief financial officer of the Paris-based Thales Group. He has been group vice CEO of the Credit Lyonnais group. Durand succeeds Ross McInnes, who has joined the PPR group.
Jana Denning has become research and development director for the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Assn. She was a member of the staff of U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.).
President Bush is likely to find support on Capitol Hill when he asks Congress to amend the Iran Non-proliferation Act (INA) so NASA can buy or barter seats on Russia's Soyuz vehicles for its astronauts when the present arrangement expires next April. Otherwise, says Administrator Michael D. Griffin, U.S. visits to the International Space Station (ISS) will be limited to those times when the space shuttle is docked there.
Itschak Gat has been appointed CEO of the Israel-based Elisra Group. He was vice president at the Challenge Fund-Etgar and had been CEO of the Rafael-IMOD Weapons Development Authority.
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The European Union has inked aviation agreements with Australia and New Zealand, superseding bilateral deals that existed between EU members and the two countries. The council of ministers is expected to okay the arrangement. The move is part of a broader EU effort to supplant bilateral deals, after the European Court of Justice said such issues were under the jurisdiction of Brussels, not national capitals. The latest agreement allows airlines from EU members to operate from any union country to Australia and New Zealand.
French armaments agency DGA has outsourced maintenance and support services for the navy's new Dupuy de Lome intelligence vessel to Thales and CNN, an expert in offshore oil rigs and maritime transports. Part of a policy of increased reliance on outsourcing, particularly in maintenance, the five-year contract is intended to ensure the vessel remains operational up to 350 days a year.
Raytheon has installed the first dual-mode radar for Britain's Airborne Stand-Off Radar system. It is to be carried by a modified Bombardier Global Express aircraft designated the Sentinel R Mk.1. It is to simultaneously display radar imagery and moving target data while flying at high altitudes.
SUKHOI CIVIL AIRCRAFT AND THALES MADE THEIR AGREEMENT on avionics for the Russian Regional Jet official at the Paris air show. The accord was originally announced late last year. At Le Bourget, Thales President Denis Ranque and Sukhoi Holding CEO Mikhail Pogosyan signed a long-term, $120-million contract for the avionics suite to be installed on the 95-seat aircraft, which Pogosyan says is due for a first flight in 2007. The cockpit will employ the latest generation of avionics equipment developed by Thales, a leading supplier to Airbus.
Japan has postponed the initial launch of the Quasi-Zenith global positioning satellite system for a year. Originally, three satellites were to be launched in fiscal 2008-09, but the government hasn't decided which ministry--education or public management--will administer the program. The 170-billion-yen ($1.55-billion) government-industry partnership aims to provide Japan with its first indigenously developed GPS system. The current plan calls for the government to cover 90 billion yen of the development program, with the New Satellite Business Corp. paying the rest.
Indianapolis International Airport has reduced landing fees 14%, citing financial concerns of its signatory airlines and its own positive revenue estimates. Effective July 1, fees declined to $1.68 per 1,000 lb. of certified gross landing weight from $1.95. At the new rates, the landing of a Boeing 737 at 143,000 lb. costs $2,402.40 in fees, down from $2,788.50. Officials say the airport's passenger volume increased 9% in 2004 and growth is continuing.
Smiths Detection is tightening its relationship with Washington-based investment house Paladin Capital, which boasts among its senior management former NSA and CIA bosses and specializes in technologies applicable to the homeland security environment. The relationship with Paladin will provide Smiths Detection with an "early heads-up" on promising developments. The diversified engineering group is pushing a multi-strand approach to the homeland security market, mixing technology-driven acquisition with in-house development, and the tie-up with Paladin.
Brenda Seaman has been promoted to assistant manager of the Atlanta Learning Center of FlightSafety International from manager for regional marketing. She succeeds Dave Davenport, who has been promoted to manager of the Savannah (Ga.) Learning Center.
Philip Duke has been appointed McLean, Va.-based managing director of the Aerospace & Defense Risk Advisory practice of KPMG. He was a consultant on the aerospace and defense industries for the Accenture Corp. and a corporate executive vice president for the Lockheed Martin Corp.
The British Defense Ministry and industry appear to be edging closer on the cost of the Royal Navy's two next- generation aircraft carriers. The so-called 100-day plan program review--which the ministry will not publish--is understood to reflect some movement on pricing. The ministry had outlined costs in the order of 3 billion pounds ($5.4 billion), while industry priced the two ships around 4 billion pounds. Industry sources suggest the review identifies a cost of 3.5 billion pounds.
SpaceX has shifted the sequence of the first two flights planned for its Falcon I launch vehicle because of access issues at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Instead of attempting the inaugural Falcon I flight from there with the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 as a payload, the privately funded company will launch a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency payload from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. That flight, tentatively set for late September, will be followed by the TacSat mission from Vandenberg later in the year, says the company.
The Deep Impact pair of spacecraft should hit and observe the comet 9P/Tempel 1 at 1:52 a.m. EDT on July 4, following last-minute checks by scientists and engineers whether the final approach should be changed to handle unexpected large outbursts by the comet seen over the last several weeks.
Advances in microchip technology, the real force behind the stunningly graphic simulations of Star Wars and other video games, soon will be developed to power embedded computers for missile radar and sonar systems among a host of civilian and military applications.
Airbus suppliers this week expect to hear in detail how the aircraft maker is restructuring the A380 production schedule to deal with development problems that are delaying deliveries 2-6 months. The production ramp-up rate is expected to remain the same, albeit on a delayed schedule.
Picor, a subsidiary of Vicor Corp., has three additions to the QPI family of active EMI filters. QPI-3, QPI-5 and QPI-6 support 24- and 48-volt DC/DC converter applications with higher current ratings and lower costs, according to the company. Providing attenuation from 150 kHz. to 30 MHz., the products deliver more than 40 dB. of common-mode and more than 70 dB. of differential-mode noise attenuation at 500 KHz. All products are pin and footprint compatible with previous versions in compact 1 X 1 X 0.2-in.
With a new software tool developed by Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems, UPS pilots will be able to monitor aircraft spacing during approaches. Pilots will use SafeRoute's "merging and spacing" feature to maintain a consistent interval and fly approaches mostly at idle power. ACSS is a joint venture of L-3 Communications and Thales.
Now that shareholders have ended their prolonged territorial spat at European defense giant EADS and aircraft maker Airbus, the newly installed leaders must establish their vision for the respective companies. Noel Forgeard and Thomas Enders are EADS' new Co-CEOs and Gustav Humbert is running Airbus. To get the team named, shareholders rewove EADS' intricate organizational web to satisfy French and German national interests.
IRIDIUM SATELLITE SAYS ISRAEL'S FLAG CARRIER EL AL is installing its satellite communication systems on seven Boeing 747-200s. The equipment will be used to transmit cockpit voice and data to and from the aircraft.
Janos Technology, a global supplier of precision infrared optical components, lenses, assemblies and custom-designed solutions for commercial OEMs, aerospace/ military and astronomy/R&D markets has relocated to New Hampshire. The new 40,000-sq.-ft. facility (with a capacity to expand an additional 17,000 sq. ft.) was designed using lean and flexible manufacturing principles. Lens systems will be assembled in a Class 1000 clean room with hoods capable of sustaining Class 100, local conditions.
The Missile Defense Agency is reorganizing in response to findings of an independent review team chartered to root out the cause of a string of test failures. The reshuffle is focused on shoring up quality control and cultural issues, not specific programs, industry and government sources say. Senate Appropriations Committee member Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) says he felt "complete and utter dismay" at finding out one recent test failure was due to dismal quality control of a single part that was poorly labeled at the test site and used improperly.
